About the Council

The Atlantic Council promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the Atlantic Community’s central role in meeting global challenges. The Council provides an essential forum for navigating the dramatic economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century by informing and galvanizing its uniquely influential network of global leaders. Through the papers we write, the ideas we generate, and the communities we build, the Council shapes policy choices and strategies to create a more secure and prosperous world.

NATO 20/2020

Twenty bold ideas to reimagine the Alliance after the 2020 US election

More than two decades after NATO’s inspired decision to invite former adversaries to join its ranks, the Alliance is in need of equally captivating ideas. The essays in this volume are intended to push the Alliance to think boldly and creatively in the service of recapturing the public’s imagination.

Read our provocative essays on the future of NATO

Explore the podcast series

Making a difference

Learn more about the Atlantic Council’s insights & impact through these stories of how our regional and thematic programs are making a difference not only in shaping how we view global issues but also in shaping their outcome.

Latest commentary and analysis


Econographics

Jun 19, 2026

Central banks can’t afford to keep missing their inflation targets

By
Jack Muldoon

While the Iran war explains the sudden rise in inflation, relying on this excuse obscures that there is potentially a long-term problem central banks will need to confront as they manage the long tail of this crisis.


Economy & Business


Macroeconomics


UkraineAlert

Jun 18, 2026

Putin’s obsession with ‘denazifying’ Ukraine makes peace impossible

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin’s obsession with “denazifying” Ukraine makes a mockery of efforts to portray the Russian invasion as a mere land grab and helps explain why there has been no meaningful progress toward peace despite more than a year of US-led efforts, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


Podcast

Jun 18, 2026

“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court

By
Alia Brahimi

In Season 2, Episode 16 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by Daniel McLaughlin, an international lawyer and Legal Director of the Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA), a California-based legal nonprofit working on behalf of victims of torture and other atrocity crimes. Daniel and CJA are leading a civil suit in San Diego against a Delaware-registered PMC, Spear Operations Group, for war crimes in Yemen. They represent the Yemeni parliamentarian Anssaf Ali Mayo, who was one of the targets of an alleged hit-squad in Yemen. Daniel talks us through the facts of the case, how it ended up in a California courtroom ten years later, and which US and international laws were ostensibly broken by the PMC. He also argues forcefully that the US government has a duty to regulate how former members of its military use their training and know-how.


Middle East


Rule of Law

Latest in-depth research and reports

Content

In the News

Nov 17, 2015

Ward: This is How the US Military Sees the Future of War

By Alex Ward

Brent Scowcroft Center Associate Director Alex Ward writes for The National Interest on the future of warfare in an increasingly technological and agile age: 

In the News

Nov 17, 2015

Cunningham on ISIS in Afghanistan

By James Cunningham

PBS quotes Zalmay Khalilzad Chair on Afghanistan and Resident Senior Fellow James B. Cunningham on the origins of ISIS and how the militant group’s increasing presence in Afghanistan is causing concern:

Afghanistan

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

LeBaron: Thanksgiving Diplomacy

By Richard LeBaron

Nonresident Senior Fellow Richard LeBaron writes for the Huffington Post on Thanksgiving and diplomacy:

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

Slavin: A Multinational, Multidimensional Strategy Against ISIS

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Voice of America on ISIS’ deadly attack in Paris and the need for a multinational, multidimensional strategy to combat ISIS:

France

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

Ullman: Rejuvenate NATO Now!

By Harlan Ullman

Atlantic Council Senior Adviser Harlan Ullman writes for United Press International on the need for a revitalized NATO to confront the challenges currently facing the alliance:

NATO Security & Defense

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

Ward on Presidential Politics and Foreign Policy

By Alex Ward

The Huffington Post quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Associate Director Alex Ward on presidential politics and foreign policy, and in particular how presidential candidates have framed discussions of ISIS:

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

Pham on Media Coverage of Africa

By J. Peter Pham

International Business Times quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the lack of media coverage of events both good and bad on the African continent:

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

Pham on the Western Sahara Dispute

By J. Peter Pham

The Hill quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the dispute in the Western Sahara and Morocco’s investment on the socioeconomic affairs of the Moroccan Sahara:

Morocco North & West Africa

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

Hellyer on the Republican Presidential Candidates and Islam

By H.A. Hellyer

Al Monitor quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow H.A. Hellyer on the rhetoric toward Islam of current Republican Presidential candidates:

In the News

Nov 16, 2015

Saab on Building a Coalition to Defeat ISIS

By Bilal Saab

The Daily Signal quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab on how to engage US allies in the Middle East to lead the fight against ISIS: